Sorry

"Smart Grid" is the name for a vision of what the electrical power grid should look like, where the grid itself uses modern networking technology to allow different parts of the grid to communicate.

By using the technology, theoretically we could reduce our chances of having a blackout, because we’d be managing our energy use more dynamically. If we reduce the chance of a blackout, we also reduce the need to have a standby power plant to meet peak demand, and that helps keep costs down.

To make the Smart Grid work, we’d have to replace the electric meters at homes and businesses with smart meters – devices that allow home and business owners to access energy prices, which change based on time of day, so that they can run electrical equipment when the rates are low.

The federal government aims to deploy more than 40 million smart meters in homes and businesses, more than 200,000 smart transformers, 850 sensors across the country, 700 automated substations and more. Funding of $3.4 billion for this effort has already been set aside, as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. More will be contributed by the industry, for a total of $8 billion.

Another issue is the sheer number of new meters necessary for the Smart Grid, each of which is going to need an IP address. Fortunately, this is one issue that could be solved fairly easily, by using the emerging update to IP called IPv6. IPv6 allows for many more IP addresses than IPv4 does, which should make accommodating the new system relatively straightforward.

Smart switches will also be needed for the Smart Grid, and these switches will have to be more rugged than the type you usually see in home or office environments, to operate in the hostile environments one might find electrical power grid equipment. The good news is that the industrial Ethernet market is well developed and should be able to handle the challenge.

Meanwhile, the Smart Grid has a bit of an image problem among consumers. Does the Smart Grid benefit the provider or the consumer? What’s the benefit of paying up front for smart meters, and for paying more for electricity at peak times? These are questions that need to be addressed.

Join the Network World communities on Facebook and LinkedIn to comment on topics that are top of mind.